Air Quality and One Simple Act

Clean air is important for all living things on Earth. Hold your breath and see how long you can hold it. It is the first of our basic needs for survival, next to water, food and shelter.

People can improve air quality by reducing the amount of pollutants that are emitted into the air. How? By taking and committing to simple actions, which can include using alternative energy sources such as solar, wind or water, or use energy more efficiently overall.

Two simple actions that many people can choose to do is to drive less and try to be idle-free whenever possible. We can also use transportation smarter by carpooling, using public transit, walking or riding bicycles.

Why Transportation?
Motor vehicles are an integral part of Canadian lifestyles. They help us get to work, or in some cases do our work, as well as travel, visit friends or family, and get our groceries. However, vehicle emissions contribute to a variety of environmental issues such as damage to plants, soil and water, and sometimes interference with animal reproduction. Vehicle emissions can also pose a problem to human health, by contributing to respiratory or cardiovascular issues and some cancers.

(Are you still holding your breath?)

Pollutants from vehicle emissions can sometimes build up and accumulate in areas such as stop lights, drive-thrus, or at pick-up and drop-off areas. Overall, transportation accounts for approximately 26 per cent of nitrogen oxides. As well, excessively idling our vehicles can also release pollutants into the air, including nitrogen oxides, sulphur dioxide, benzene, particulate matter and carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide, while not an air pollutant per se, can contribute to climate change and may be linked to various environmental issues such as drought, poor soil quality and potential loss of biodiversity.

School Resources and Community-based Monitoring

Alberta’s Idle-free School Resource Manual
An elementary school resource guide to take action on improving air quality in Alberta.

Green Learning
A website that can help your students participate in their own learning while gaining a more holistic and hopeful understanding of today's complex energy and environmental issues. Contains lots of resources and information.

Alberta’s Air Quality Index (AQI)
The Air Quality Index is based on outdoor concentrations of carbon monoxide, fine particulate matter (PM_2.5), nitrogen dioxide, ozone and sulphur dioxide. A minimum of four of the above listed pollutants (one of which must be PM_2.5) is required to calculate the AQI. These pollutants are monitored continuously in Alberta. Twenty seven continuous ambient air monitoring stations collect and report to Alberta Environment’s Current Air Quality website this combination of pollutants necessary for the calculation of the AQI. Current air quality can be found around Alberta here.

Air Quality Health Index for Kids
Meet Indi the Caterpillar! Indi is here to tell you about the Air Quality Health Index!

Air Quality Health Index Learning Stations

These Air Quality Health Index (AQHI) learning stations address literacy, reflection and problem-solving with awareness of the Government of Canada's AQHI.

Educators can choose from six 30-minute learning centres for their grade 5 or 6 students, building skills in literacy, communication, reflection and problem-solving. Developed directly from provincial and territorial curriculum documents, topics include ways to prepare for and predict various weather and/or air quality conditions, how media, peers and family affect decisions, outdoor safety, and environmental health issues.

English / French

Hard copies of this document and other related resources can be ordered from here.

You can also check out the State of the Environment reporting website for more air quality and other environmental management information.